Miami to Ibiza: wrapping the Gumball Rally [+vid]
It is a high-octane, high-performance, high-profile rally that sees 120 supercars race from America to the Mediterranean wrapped in a truly awe inspiring range of wacky designs, colours, and special effects.
Wednesday, 02 Jul 2014 09:54 GMT
Eye-catching: Raccoon produced some stunning graphics
The Gumball 3000 Rally is under way with some of the world’s most stylish and outlandish cars in a 3,000 mile race. The firm behind the mass vehicle wrapping is Raccoon based in Kent, which is the branding partner of the event and has been at the cutting edge of the vehicle wrapping revolution.
“We’ve been doing it for 20 years,” says Raccoon’s Richard Clark, adding: “We literally started at the beginning when the first taxis were being wrapped when we were pushing wraps for commercial clients.”
Working with the Gumballers, Raccoon designed, printed, finished and applied the majority of the wraps and liveries, including all of the sponsors’ decals and team numbers”
That experience is needed for the epic job of wrapping most of the vehicles in the rally as Raccoon’s team were flown out to Miami to work on the assorted mix of sweeping curves, polished chrome and super-charged engines. Designed on a computer the materials were then printed out and applied to the cars featuring this year’s theme of the TV series Miami Vice. Inevitably there are potential problems with such a complex job.
“That’s where we come into our own,” says Clark, who continues: “because it’s alright doing a flat design on a computer screen and getting that approved by a client but in reality the vehicle is always different from what you would expect. So you have to take into account the overall curves of the vehicle, and that’s where we excel with our ability to adapt the graphic to the vehicle. It is a skill we have developed over many years.”
Picture Special
Working with the Gumballers, Raccoon designed, printed, finished and applied the majority of the wraps and liveries, including all of the sponsors’ decals and team numbers. Included in the design brief was Team Wolfpack's Tron, featuring real glow in the dark lighting within the wrap, and Team Galag’s McLaren P1, which was transformed using three-coloured digitally printed matte chrome—a technique once considered impossible. It is a look which even Miami Vice’s Don Johnson would have approved.
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Retro style: check out some of Raccoon’s work at Shmee’s video of the Miami Vice theme
Fast and the furious: Raccoon were behind the vehicle wraps for the Gumball Rally this year
